Featured – GOODSPEED HISTORIES

Shrinking Township, part 2

July 19, 2019 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, East Amwell, Featured, Hunterdon County No Comments Tags: early legislation, land titles, local government, politics, roads

In my previous post (A Shrinking Township, part one), I wrote about a petition in 1896 to take a large chunk out of Delaware Township and give it to East Amwell Township. That petition was signed by two East Amwell residents, William H. Manners and Simpson Sked Stout. This post will describe these two, as well as the journey the bill took through the legislature, and the property owners who were affected by it.

A Shrinking Township

July 6, 2019 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, East Amwell, Featured, Headquarters No Comments Tags: early legislation, politics

On November 18, 1896, two gentlemen from East Amwell Township announced in the Hunterdon Republican newspaper that they would petition the state legislature to change the boundary between East Amwell and Delaware Townships. It was a fairly radical change they were proposing, in which Delaware Township yielded to East Amwell a large chunk from its eastern border and Delaware got nothing in return. On April 17, 1897, the State Legislature followed through and passed a bill to make that happen.

Haines Farm, part two

June 22, 2019 By Marfy Goodspeed in Bowne Station, Delaware Township, E. T. Bush, Featured, Haines, Headquarters, Historians Revisited 2 Comments Tags: maps, roads

This article is a continuation of The Haines Farm, part one.

The Haines farm has a pretty remarkable history, as Mr. Bush wrote:

From the first Isaac Haines the property descended to his son, the second Joseph; from this Joseph to his son, the second Isaac; and from him to his son, the third Joseph, the present owner, to whom it was conveyed by his father and mother, March 10, 1920.

The Haines Farm

June 1, 2019 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, E. T. Bush, East Amwell, Featured, Haines, Historians Revisited, Moore No Comments Tags: early settlers, land titles

This post returns to an article by Egbert T. Bush titled “Old Farms in Old Hunterdon,” published in 1931. I published large parts of this article before, in “The Moore Family,” in 2016. As the introduction to that article mentioned, two families were discussed in Bush’s article, the Moores and the Haines. Having discussed the Moore family at length, it is time to focus on the Haines family and their farm on the east side of Haines Road in East Amwell. This will conclude my study of some (but not all) of the farms located in the original proprietary tract of John Dennis.

The Democratic Club of Delaware Twp, 1863

June 5, 2015 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, Featured, Hunterdon County 5 Comments Tags: Civil War, politics

The most recent issue of the Hunterdon Historical Newsletter (vol. 51, no. 2) includes an article by me on the Democratic Club of Delaware Township. I thought the story an important one, so, for the benefit of those who do not subscribe to the newsletter, I am also publishing it here on my website, with a couple additional notes.

(I do hope you will consider becoming a member of the Hunterdon County Historical Society, which includes a subscription to the newsletter. It’s a great way to support the preservation of Hunterdon County history. Here’s their website: Hunterdon History.)

“Copperheadism” in Locktown

May 15, 2015 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, Featured, Locktown 2 Comments Tags: churches, Civil War, religion

During the Civil War, Republicans called Democrats who opposed the war “Copperheads,” likening them to poisonous snakes. Many of these “Copperheads” could be found in Northern States like New Jersey, and in Hunterdon County.

The Division of Amwell, part two

February 15, 2013 By Marfy Goodspeed in Amwell Township, Delaware Township, Featured, Hopewell Township, Hunterdon County, Raritan Township No Comments Tags: "The Post", 1838, early legislation, politics

This year residents of Delaware Township in Hunterdon County celebrate the 175 years since the township was created. Five years ago, in celebration of its 170th anniversary, I published a series of articles on the website “The Delaware Township Post.” It seems appropriate to republish those articles this year on my own website, slightly edited. Here is part two: Continue reading »

The Division of Amwell Township, 1838

January 22, 2013 By Marfy Goodspeed in Amwell Township, Delaware Township, Featured, Hopewell Township, Hunterdon County, Lambertville, Raritan Township, Stockton 4 Comments Tags: "The Post", 1838, early legislation, local government, politics

This year residents of Delaware Township in Hunterdon County celebrate the 175 years since the township was created. The story of how this came about is a surprising one, and a little disheartening. Continue reading »